Raw deal for whistleblowers

NO DEFENCE FOR DEFENDERS OF TRUTH: There is no legislation in India to protect whistleblowers.

          

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Keywords: RTI Act, Arvind Kejriwal

New Delhi: Politicians have finally woken up to the tragic cases of Manjunath Shanmugam and Satyendra Dubey that shook media in the recent past. One blew the whistle on petrol pump adulteration in Uttar Pradesh, the other on corruption in building national highways in Bihar. Both met a dead end, because they didn't have the benefit of a legislation that could have protected their lives.

Now, the Administrative Reforms Commission headed by Veerappa Moily has recommended a law to protect the lives and identities of whistleblowers. The committee's intentions are noble. But will they work?

To discuss the contentious issue on CNN-IBN's Face the Nation with Vidya Shankar Aiyer were Founder Trustee of Manjunath Shanmugam Trust, Mysore, Anjali Mullatti; Magsaysay award winner and CNN-IBN’s Indian of the Year 2006 for Public Service, Arvind Kejriwal of Parivartan; and brother of murdered IIT engineer Satyendra Dubey, Dhananjay Dubey.

Can whistleblowers get protection in our system?

Insiders, who expose corruption or crime in a system, very often become vulnerable to threats and attacks in the absence of adequate protection laws. Though legal aid to whistleblowers does not exist in India, it is a norm in many countries.

The question is whether it is possible to implement and sustain a whistleblower protection law in India? Though everyone understands that there is need for a strong legislation and its immediate enactment, but for that to become a reality, political will to sustain it is extremely crucial.

Founder trustee of Manjunath Shanmugam Trust, Anjali Mullatti said, “We certainly need a strong legislation. But what we need apart from the law is a close-ended time frame for action. Apart from protection to the whistleblower, the Act must ensure that the action will be taken on the grievance within a time frame,” she added.

She stated that to file a complaint, the entire system has to be “independent of political pressure and bureaucracy”.

Dismal situation when it comes to implemention

Arvind Kejriwal who fought for the Right to Information Act, says he also went through a period of gestation before the Act got implemented.

Rating the success of a possible legislation for the protection of whistleblowers, Kejriwal said, “The legislation must be there certainly. But I have my doubts whether the legislation will provide for the essential protection clauses.”